Brand Revealer #07: "Be clear on who you are, what you do and why people should care" with Zosia Swidlicka

New Q&A with founder of Opening Line, Zosia Swidlicka + introducing ''Marketing Buddy''

👋 Hello brand enthusiast, how are you doing today?

Let’s discover our new Brand Revealer of the month. I also introduce our new series in the letter + some cool inspiration from bright brands I discovered.

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💡Every month we have a guest for our short and sweet Q&A. Longer interviews will stay on the blog.

My goal is to demystify the word Branding so that anyone can understand its paradoxes and implement their version of Branding. By collecting an eclectic panel of definitions and visions of what Branding is and implies. Showcasing those who do, use, and expand Branding: Brand revealers.

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Short Q&A - Brand Revealer #07

I asked a few questions to Zosia Swidlicka, a fellow storyteller I had the opportunity to collaborate with a few years ago through a skill swap. She captures the power of the voice of a brand and speaks its language with respect, clarity and audacity.

Who are you?

My name is Zosia Swidlicka. I am the founder of Opening Line.

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Your agency/studio

OPENING LINE

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Where are you located?

🇬🇧 London (but soon Lyon)

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What is your definition of Branding?

Branding is being clear on who you are, what you do and why people should care. Then communicating that to the world in a way that resonates.

Zosia

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Branding is made of trial and error. The positioning takes effort, time and dedication. How can entrepreneurs recover from a branding that doesn't resonate yet with their audience?

My first step would be to find out why it doesn't resonate. Was the positioning established in line with genuine audience needs (emotional and functional)? Is it authentic to the company and its team, or does it fall flat because the bold new vision doesn't match up with the product or service they're providing? Lastly, is it being properly implemented? All too often a great positioning is left to languish in a deck on the founder's desktop, because it hasn't been created in collaboration with the wider team, and the Big Reveal hasn't gone down well because they feel left out of the process.

Zosia

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What are the repeated words you hear about your Brand and Branding from your audience, teams, and people who discover you? (3 to 5 keywords)

Beautiful • Clear • Love • Need • Help

Zosia

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What is your best branding story from clients, yourself or an iconic brand you look up to?

A great branding story for me is about having a point of view and not being afraid to state it. Like Patagonia did with their iconic "Don't buy this jacket" advert.
The "best" branding story, then, is about not just telling it but living it too.

We recently completed a positioning and verbal identity project for a marketing agency that has always injected their briefs with a fusion of creativity and technology. Once we identified that what they really do is "creative innovation for the world's pioneering brands" and not just plain old marketing like everyone else, things got really interesting. Rather than just swapping out their old website tagline for their new one, they went and built a metaverse experience, trained their own AI chatbot, and built a dedicated platform for bespoke content and community. All this to live their purpose, which was about connecting people and pushing creativity forwards.

Zosia

Words are a powerful tool in branding. How did this superpower help you in building Opening Line?

Words are powerful and yet Lorem Ipsum, corporate jargon, or worse - fluffy copy that tells you nothing - continue to find their way into branding. 
I think most people struggle with words because words force you to be super specific about what you do, to put yourself out there, and have a point of view. Unfortunately, most brands tend to blend in, rather than stand out, because they aren’t clear on their foundations. 

So being good with words is not just about being able to turn a phrase, or come up with a catchy tagline. It’s about really understanding the opportunity a brand has to bring something new to the conversation, to give them a voice that reflects their true nature, and then add flair so it sticks in people’s minds. 
It is this skill that I would call our superpower at Opening Line. And it’s a skill we have to work at every day, so I guess determination is a big part of it too. 

Zosia

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You can discover her work and mindset at Zosia Swidlicka + @openingline

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🔦 Introducing Marketing Buddy

I always had a misconception concerning marketing (even with mentors like Zig Ziglar), maybe it is a creative trait, as creatives we shy away from selling our work. I am still gaining awareness around that art but what I have unlocked as wisdom is that once you are functioning in your space of genius, ease and curiosity selling does not feel like selling.

In the space of inspiration, the sale is easy.

Branding is a powerful expression that needs an accelerator and that fuel is Marketing. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to chat with some marketing experts, and they truly enlightened me about their craft and how it cannot be viable without Branding. While Branding stands alone, it can only truly resonate when marketing comes into play and works its magic.
Branding serves as the foundation for Marketing's success.

• Branding and Marketing are friends
  → In that lens, I have decided to bring in Marketing experts and revealers.
  → Together, we will uncover the intricate relationship between Branding and Marketing. Sometimes a love/hate dynamic, but mostly growing buddies.
  → Marketing cannot be overlooked! So, Let’s deep dive one Q&A at a time.

On the next issue we will have our first guest, he is French!

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🤩 Bright, they are!

• Brand, who me? (I discovered Rachael Kay Albers through Giphy, (Yes! Giphy has a pull to discoverability), she is a Brand strategist and uses her brand self to shed light on balance. I would love to have her on this letter!)

• 🇫🇷 La tête dans les nuages (How can you reuse a hot air balloon? Well, LTDLN just found a design-playful way)

• Taskade plays with productivity and AI (AI generator, some Notion vibe, mind maps, video chats and more… the all-dark mode design is pretty cool)

• CEX-The creator economy Expo (by The Tilt newsletter: 40 creators on how to build and grow your content business)

• 20 mental models for entrepreneurs (I stumbled upon this tool by Frontera, thanks to Newsletter Circle)

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🎈 Fun brand(ING) prompt / 012

The Hero section of a website is the icebreaker. In that first introduction, the copy can make or break it. Can you recall your first copywriting effort and compare it to your current skills? What makes your current copy stand out more?

Video, words, illustration, animation… you choose. Short and sweet.

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Unfolding your branding voice is a superpower.

I hope you enjoyed the read of the week.

Yours creatively,
Keva

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